A cooking challenge organised by the Cook School by Martin Wishart. The brief: A seasonal dish cooked in under 1h. Having thought about cooking competitions for a while, this sounded like the perfect opportunity for me to come up with a great recipe and test my cooking skills. My dish, which got selected for the semi-final, is me on a plate: French techniques that I learnt from my mum combined with my passion for Scottish produce.
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| Chestnut tartlet with heather crème patissière and brambles, accompanied with a spiced bramble coulis and a hazelnut praline |
After an hour of totally focused and nerve-racking cooking whilst Martin Wishart stood behind me watching me rolling out the pastry, I was ready to serve. Martin and his chef Kevin tasted all the dishes in the dining room. After a huge mountain of washing-up, a glass of wine and chats with the other contestants, the waiting time was finally over, and Martin announced his verdict: I was the first to be put through to the final! This was incredible. I was over the moon as it meant so much to me.
Well, I'm back practising now for the final on 20th November. Watch this space!
